U.S. patent number 7,164,072 [Application Number 10/721,113] was granted by the patent office on 2007-01-16 for brace bar for sound board of guitar.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Sungeum Music Co. Ltd.. Invention is credited to In Jae Park.
United States Patent |
7,164,072 |
Park |
January 16, 2007 |
Brace bar for sound board of guitar
Abstract
Disclosed is a brace bar attached to an inner surface of a sound
board of a guitar to prevent the sound board from being distorted,
which has a modified shape to improve the flexibility of the sound
board while maintaining the strength of the sound board, thus
improving the resonance of the sound board and reducing a weight of
the sound board. The brace bar includes a narrow portion having a
cross-section with a profile of which at least one side extends
vertically upward to a position of a predetermined height, thus
forming a lower base part, and is bent inward at the position
toward a center of the brace bar, and, thereafter, extends upward
while being inclined at a predetermined inclination angle to form a
tapered upper part.
Inventors: |
Park; In Jae (Yangju-si,
KR) |
Assignee: |
Sungeum Music Co. Ltd.
(KR)
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Family
ID: |
34712692 |
Appl.
No.: |
10/721,113 |
Filed: |
November 25, 2003 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20050109188 A1 |
May 26, 2005 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
84/294 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G10D
3/02 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G10D
3/00 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;84/291,294,192,189,190 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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1275341 |
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Aug 1968 |
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DE |
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2408377 |
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Feb 2006 |
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GB |
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Primary Examiner: Lockett; Kimberly
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Robert W Becker & Associates
Becker; Robert W
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A brace bar attached to an inner surface of a sound board
forming a body of a guitar to reinforce the sound board,
comprising: a narrow portion to improve the flexibility of the
brace bar while maintaining a strength of the brace bar, thus
improving the resonance of the body of the guitar, the narrow
portion having a cross-section with a profile of which at least one
side extends vertically upward to a position of a predetermined
height, thus forming a lower base part, and is bent inward at said
position toward a center of the brace bar thereby forming an upper
surface of said lower base part, and, thereafter, extends upward
while being inclined at a predetermined inclination angle to form a
tapered upper part.
2. The brace bar as set forth in claim 1, wherein the narrow
portion has a cross-section that both sides extend vertically
upward to positions of the predetermined height, thus forming the
lower base part, and are bent inward at the positions toward the
center of the brace bar, and, thereafter, extend upward while being
inclined at the predetermined inclination angle to form the tapered
upper part.
3. The brace bar as set forth in claim 1, wherein the narrow
portion has a cross-section that one side extends vertically upward
to the position of the predetermined height, is bent inward at the
position toward the center of the brace bar, and extends upward
while being inclined at the predetermined inclination angle, but
the other side extends vertically upward to a top of the brace bar.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains, in general, to brace bars attached
to an inner surface of a sound board of a guitar to prevent the
sound board from being deformed and, more particularly, to a brace
bar attached to an inner surface of a sound board of a guitar,
which has a modified shape to improve the flexibility of the sound
board while maintaining the strength of the sound board, thus
improving the resonance of the sound board and reducing a weight of
the sound board.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a guitar includes a body 1
having a sound board 1a attached to an upper part thereof, a block
2 made of wood attached to an inner surface of the body 1 and
having a groove 2a to receive a neck 3, the neck 3 being connected
to the block 2 in such a way that a lug 3a of a heel 3b of the neck
3 is inserted into the groove 2a of the block 2, a fingerboard 4
attached to an upper surface of the neck 3, a bridge 5 attached to
an upper surface of the sound board 1a of the body 1, a brace bar 6
attached to a lower surface of the sound board 1a, a head 7
integrated with an end of the neck 3 which is not connected to the
body 1, strings 8 connected between the bridge 5 and the head 7,
and a fingerboard adjusting rod 9 longitudinally installed on an
upper, central surface of the neck 3 to adjust a state of an even
surface of the fingerboard 4.
The guitar is provided with a resonant sound board 1a to resonate
for a relatively long time and to make peculiar sounds.
To prevent the sound board 1a from being distorted while it is used
for a long term, various kinds of brace bars 16, 16', 16a, 16b,
16a', 16b' are attached to an inner surface of the sound board 1a
as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The stronger the brace bar attached to
the sound board 1a is, the longer a life span of the guitar is. On
the other hand, the flexible brace bar contributes to improving
resonance of the sound board 1a to allow the guitar to resonate for
a relatively long time.
If the brace bar is not strong, the sound bar 1a bends over time.
Thus, the life span of the guitar is shortened because the sound
bar 1a does not fulfill its own function. On the other hand, if the
brace bar is too strong, the resonance of the sound board 1a is
poor even though the sound board 1a is not distorted, thus the
guitar makes a poor sound for a short time.
Accordingly, it is preferable that the brace bar has flexibility as
well as strength. Furthermore, a shape and the number of the brace
bars, and an attachment structure of the brace bar to the sound
board 1a, are important factors affecting the performance and
durability of the guitar.
Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, there are illustrated a plurality of
brace bars attached to an inner surface of a sound board of a
conventional guitar. At this time, shapes and the number of the
brace bars, and the attachment structure of the brace bars to the
sound board of FIG. 3, are similar to those of FIG. 4. In other
words, two pairs of first and second main brace bars 16, 16' are
attached to the inner surface of the sound board in the shape of an
`X`, and first and second auxiliary brace bars 16a, 16b, 16a', 16b'
are attached to the inner surface of the sound board as a way to be
positioned around the main brace bars. As described above, FIG. 3
is similar to FIG. 4 in views of the shapes and the number of the
brace bars, and the attachment structure of the brace bars to the
sound board. However, FIG. 3 is different from FIG. 4 in terms of
several facts. In detail, the first main and first auxiliary brace
bars 16, 16a of FIG. 3 have recessed parts formed on middle
portions (a) thereof. At this time, each of the recessed parts
forms a bow with its center being bent downward. On the other hand,
the second main and second auxiliary brace bars 16', 16a' of FIG. 4
have not the recessed parts, and each has a cross-section with a
profile of which a side extends vertically upward to a position of
a predetermined height, thus forming a lower base part, and extends
upward while being bent toward the center of each brace bar to form
a parabolic upper part (b), as shown in FIG. 5.
That is to say, in FIG. 3, the first main and first auxiliary brace
bars 16, 16a have longer heights than widths to allow the sound
board 1a of FIG. 3 to have the strength, and have the bow-shaped
recessed parts formed on the middle portions (a) thereof to allow
the sound board of FIG. 3 to have increased flexibility.
Furthermore, the second main and second auxiliary brace bars 16',
16a' of FIG. 4 each has the cross-section with the profile of which
the side extends vertically upward to the position of the
predetermined height, thus forming the lower base part, and extends
upward while being curved toward the center of each brace bar to
form the parabolic upper part (b), as shown in FIG. 5, thereby
their sectional areas are reduced to allow the sound board 1a of
FIG. 4 to have the flexibility to improve the resonance of the
sound board 1a and to make a middle- and a low-pitched sound for a
relatively long time.
Therefore, the present invention provides a brace bar attached to
an inner surface of a sound board of a guitar, which has a modified
shape to improve the flexibility of the sound board while
maintaining the strength of the sound board.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind
the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an aspect of the
present invention is to provide a brace bar attached to an inner
surface of a sound board of a guitar, which has a modified shape to
improve flexibility of the sound board while maintaining the
strength of the sound board, thus improving resonance of the sound
board and reducing a weight of the brace bar to reducing a weight
of the guitar to provide ease of use to a guitar player.
Additional aspects and/or advantages of the invention will be set
forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will
be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of
the invention.
The above and/or other aspects are achieved by providing a brace
bar attached to an inner surface of a sound board forming a body of
a guitar to reinforce the sound bar, including a narrow portion
having a cross-section with a profile of which a side extends
vertically upward to a position of a predetermined height, thus
forming a lower base part, and is bent inward at said position
toward a center of the brace bar, and, thereafter, extends upward
while being inclined at a predetermined inclination angle to form a
tapered upper part.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
This and other aspects and advantages of the invention will become
apparent and more readily appreciated from the following
description of the preferred embodiments, taken in conjunction with
the accompanying drawing of which:
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional
guitar;
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the conventional guitar of FIG.
1;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a first brace bar attached to an
inner surface of a sound board of the conventional guitar;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a second brace bar attached to an
inner surface of a sound board of the conventional guitar;
FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the brace bar taken in the direction
of the arrows along the line A A' of FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a brace bar attached to an inner
surface of a sound board of a guitar according to the first
embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of the brace bar of FIG.
6;
FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view of the brace bar taken in the
direction of the arrows along the line B B' of FIG. 6; and
FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a brace bar according to the second
embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred
embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are
illustrated in the accompanying drawings
As shown in the drawings, FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a brace
bar attached to an inner surface of a sound board of a guitar
according to the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 7
is an enlarged perspective view of the brace bar of FIG. 6, FIG. 8
is an enlarged sectional view of the brace bar taken in the
direction of the arrows along the line B B' of FIG. 6, and FIG. 9
is a sectional view of a brace bar according to the second
embodiment of the present invention.
With reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, brace bars 26, 26a according to
the first embodiment of the present invention are attached to an
inner surface of a sound board 1a of a guitar to reinforce the
sound board 1a. In this regard, the brace bars 26, 26a, each
include a narrow portion having a cross-section with a profile of
which a side extends vertically upward to a position (p) of a
predetermined height (h), thus forming a lower base part, and is
bent inward at the position (p) toward a center of the brace bar,
and, thereafter, extends upward while being inclined at a
predetermined inclination angle to form a tapered upper part (c),
as shown in FIG. 8.
Meanwhile, FIG. 8 illustrates the brace bars 26, 26a according to
the first embodiment of the present invention. At this time, the
brace bar 26 (26a) according to the first embodiment of the present
invention has a cross-section with the profile that both sides 28,
28a extend vertically upward to the position 30 of the
predetermined height, thus forming a lower base part 32, and are
then bent inward at position 30 toward the center of the brace bar
34, thereby forming upper surfaces 36, 36a of the lower base part
32. The sides 28, 28a are then bent upward at the position 38 (best
seen on FIG. 9), and, thereafter, extend upward while being
inclined at the predetermined inclination angle to form the tapered
upper part 40. On the other hand FIG. 9 illustrates the brace bar
according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In
this regard, the brace bars 26, 26a according to the second
embodiment of the present invention have the cross-section that one
side 28 extends vertically upward to the position 30 of the
predetermined height, is bent inward at the position 30 toward the
center 34 of the brace bar 26 forming an upper surface 36 of lower
base part 32. The brace bars 26, 26a are bent upward at the
position 38, and, thereafter extends upward while being inclined at
the predetermined inclination angle, but the other side 28a extends
vertically upward to a top of the brace bar. At this time, an
irregular lateral line of the cross-section of the brace bar shown
in FIG. 9 has the similar shape to both irregular lateral lines of
the cross-section of the brace bar shown in FIG. 8. Hence, the
brace bars according to the first and second embodiment of the
present invention have nearly equal strength and flexibility.
The brace bar according to the present invention includes the
narrow portion having the cross-section with the profile of which
the side extends vertically upward to the position of the
predetermined height, thus forming the lower base part, and is bent
inward at the position toward the center of the brace bar, and,
thereafter, extends upward while being inclined at the
predetermined inclination angle to form the tapered upper part.
Therefore, the brace bar of the present invention has a smaller
sectional area than a conventional brace bar, as shown in FIG. 5,
having a cross-section with a profile of which a side extends
vertically upward to a position of a predetermined height, thus
forming a lower base part, and extends upward while being bent
toward the center of each brace bar to form a parabolic upper part.
Additionally, the brace bar of the present invention is slightly
higher than the conventional brace bar of FIG. 5, thereby
simultaneously having the same strength as the conventional brace
bar and the improved flexibility.
As described above, when the flexibility of the brace bar is
improved, the resonance of the sound board is improved, thereby the
guitar including the brace bar resonates for a relatively long
time.
Further, the brace bar of the present invention has a smaller
sectional area than the conventional brace bar of FIG. 5. Thus, the
brace bar of the present invention is slightly lighter than the
conventional brace bar, causing a reduction of a weight of the
guitar to provide ease of use to a guitar player.
As apparent from the above description, the present invention
provides a brace bar attached to an inner surface of a sound board
of a guitar, which has a modified shape to improve flexibility of
the sound board while maintaining the strength of the sound board,
thus improving the resonance of the sound board to allow the guitar
to resonate for a relatively long time and reducing a weight of the
guitar to provide ease of use to a guitar player.
The present invention has been described in an illustrative manner,
and it is to be understood that the terminology used is intended to
be in the nature of description rather than of limitation. Many
modifications and variations of the present invention are possible
in light of the above teachings. Therefore, it is to be understood
that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be
practiced otherwise than as specifically described.
* * * * *